Moving onto my next interview I feel a little clearer about what we should be discussing, so I coerce the Innovation Fixer, Kevin Mcfarthing into verbal submission and talking about WOW brands over lunch...
Kevin spent a large part of his career in what I would call a brand aligned FMCG organisation (as a one time R&D director you could easily have mistaken him for a Marketeer) making household cleaning products. He was quick to express that the product or service and the experience of using it is central to any WOW brand. Marketeers like to call this your 'Reason to Believe'.
However on further discussion I'm beginning to think that it takes some time for us (the consumers) to recognise, understand and trust in this 'reason to believe', and then only at this time does the brand move from 'liked' to 'loved' in our minds.
Many brands are liked, only WOW brands are loved...
Hence it only follows that if love is involved, then it must be the kind of romantic love formed over time, characterised by years of dating and initiated through an introduction from your parents. This might sound preposterous but what follows is honestly a love story...
Whilst serving as the Global Head of R&D for the Dettol brand, Kevin disembarked from a plane in India and into a taxi bound for his hotel. The Sikh taxi driver indulged our hero in small talk, and Kevin asked about the taxi driver's past. It transpired that the driver had been part of India's Olympic winning Hockey team. Most of us would describe this as 'a tough act to follow' but when Kevin responded with the understatement that 'he made Dettol', the driver stopped the car and asked for his autograph, explaining that in India it was an institution and his mother had used it for years...
Okay I might be embellishing a little (!) but know this:
-Dettol is the no.1 and most trusted soap brand in India
-Dettol is also the no.1 and most trusted shower brand in India
-Reckitt Benckiser has quantitative market research that shows the brand is so trusted in India, it could be used to sell bicycles, even though this doesn't fit with the brand promise
Dettols brand promise is succinctly 'protection from infection'. I must confess as a kid the brand and its products were part of the fabric of my childhood- we even bathed in it because 'thats what it said on the bottle'.
In the UK I'd argue that the love affair is over and 'casual dating' in the soap area has become rife. For many Indians, the love affair continues- It may be the kind of love that they want to tell others about, or it may be the kind of love that they only recognise once its gone. Either way does this love describe a WOW brand? Just ask the taxi driver...
Lovemarks...
Finally, what this leads us to is that the concept of WOW might be misleading, and what we should focus on more is the connection of 'love' we form with the products and services around us. The deeper these connections are, the more resilient and long lasting our relationship with the product becomes. The advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi coined the term 'Lovemarks' to describe this.
Kevin spent a large part of his career in what I would call a brand aligned FMCG organisation (as a one time R&D director you could easily have mistaken him for a Marketeer) making household cleaning products. He was quick to express that the product or service and the experience of using it is central to any WOW brand. Marketeers like to call this your 'Reason to Believe'.
However on further discussion I'm beginning to think that it takes some time for us (the consumers) to recognise, understand and trust in this 'reason to believe', and then only at this time does the brand move from 'liked' to 'loved' in our minds.
Many brands are liked, only WOW brands are loved...
Hence it only follows that if love is involved, then it must be the kind of romantic love formed over time, characterised by years of dating and initiated through an introduction from your parents. This might sound preposterous but what follows is honestly a love story...
Whilst serving as the Global Head of R&D for the Dettol brand, Kevin disembarked from a plane in India and into a taxi bound for his hotel. The Sikh taxi driver indulged our hero in small talk, and Kevin asked about the taxi driver's past. It transpired that the driver had been part of India's Olympic winning Hockey team. Most of us would describe this as 'a tough act to follow' but when Kevin responded with the understatement that 'he made Dettol', the driver stopped the car and asked for his autograph, explaining that in India it was an institution and his mother had used it for years...
Okay I might be embellishing a little (!) but know this:
-Dettol is the no.1 and most trusted soap brand in India
-Dettol is also the no.1 and most trusted shower brand in India
-Reckitt Benckiser has quantitative market research that shows the brand is so trusted in India, it could be used to sell bicycles, even though this doesn't fit with the brand promise
Dettols brand promise is succinctly 'protection from infection'. I must confess as a kid the brand and its products were part of the fabric of my childhood- we even bathed in it because 'thats what it said on the bottle'.
In the UK I'd argue that the love affair is over and 'casual dating' in the soap area has become rife. For many Indians, the love affair continues- It may be the kind of love that they want to tell others about, or it may be the kind of love that they only recognise once its gone. Either way does this love describe a WOW brand? Just ask the taxi driver...
Lovemarks...
Finally, what this leads us to is that the concept of WOW might be misleading, and what we should focus on more is the connection of 'love' we form with the products and services around us. The deeper these connections are, the more resilient and long lasting our relationship with the product becomes. The advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi coined the term 'Lovemarks' to describe this.
Not so sure about this one, bog cleaner and soap have to go a long way to earn a place in the average heart...
ReplyDeleteI just came across an amazing innovation from Dettol in Singapore - video sensor based soap dispenser - just bring your hands close to it and get a drip of the soap - it is amazingly simple, elegant and sooo convenient. I have not see it anywhere else. I never had any affinity to Dettol, but now I am hold this brand in a very high esteem. To me, coming across such small things that makes your life better is what makes brands wow.
ReplyDeleteI bought that detttol dispenser in Sale in Sainsbury's. It doesn't work very well Svetlana .. Sorry ..
ReplyDeleteI guess if you promise more that you can deliver then the WOW was never there...
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